Happy Thought of The Day

Need a boost to fly off to Neverland for the night? Here's a happy thought for you.

God is ALWAYS on your side. Always. :)

Mean it.

Good night!

Outfit of The Day: 7/31/11

Yeah, just a warning, this may or may not end up being a daily thing :) Sometimes I'm just too busy. I'll try and do it as often as I can, though.

Today's outfit: Red maxi dress with a FABULOUS pattern, slightly sheer black button-up underneath. Barefoot! Hair: Braided on either side, pinned back into a bun.

Photos taken by: Cousin Carlie.

So far the whole "no makeup" thing is going pretty well. I still get thrown for a loop when I look at these pictures. I didn't edit out any wrinkles or zits or dicolorations -- this is all real, and it still makes me nervous. I'm still getting used to the fact that I don't have to look like Jennifer Lopez to be beautiful. I feel totally beautiful in this dress, though -- isn't it fit for a princess? x)

Make 'Em Laugh

Seriously. Try not to laugh.

Song of The Week

"Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato

This song makes me cry. She is my new hero. It takes a lot to get help for what she had. You go, girl!

Also, song is amazing. Love.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review **SPOILERS**

My Rating Scale:
* = AWFUL
** = Pretty bad
*** = Not great, but still worth seeing
**** = Memorable, really good
***** = FANTASTIC

"Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Story *****
Characters *****
Performance ****
Standing As A Sequel ****
Standing Compared to Book ****
Overall Rating *****

HP 7 Part 2.

Wow.

It's been six days since I saw it in theaters, and I'm still not sure what to say except... Wow.

By which I mean, of course...

That. Was. Incredible.

My family was unable to score tickets to the midnight showing, unfortunately. I did feel like it detracted from the experience of seeing the end of a series that helped to raise a generation (mine). There were only about thirty of us in the theater -- my mother, my introduction to Harry Potter as an eight-year-old, my sister, who grew up with the movies but only managed to squeeze in the books two summers ago, so she would be allowed to see the midnight premier of "Half-Blood Prince", my eight-year-old brother, who has never seen any of these movies in theaters but has listened to the books on CD and grown up with the movies almost since birth, my cousin David, a newcomer to this fabulous world, and myself, who began reading the series seven years ago (coincidentally, the length of a full study, entrance through graduation, at Hogwarts), watched with huge eyes when "The Sorceror's Stone" was new on DVD, waited impatiently for every DVD from "Chamber of Secrets" through "Order of The Phoenix", migrated with millions of other excited fans to the midnight premiers of both "Half-Blood Prince" and "Deathly Hallows Part 1", and who proudly sported now, upon my forehead, a lightning-shaped scar, painted on in brown eyeliner, despite the fact that it was the third day, and nobody in that theater really cared, except us.

What an incredibly emotional experience. I have never cried so much during a movie. Not during "Up!", not during "Bridge to Terebithia", not during "Soul Surfer". My mother, sister and I pretty much sobbed from the moment the familiar Warner Brothers logo appeared to the moment the screen faded to black and the credits began to roll.

The movie begins where Part 1 left off: Voldemort has broken into Dumbledore's tomb to steal the Elder Wand. And from that moment the movie is heist/epic battle. That's literally what happens. They rob a bank, and then go kick some butt. And it is AWESOME!


I'm going to begin by listing the cons; that way I can end on a positive note. One of the most disappointing things for me was the lack of reappearing characters and cast members. The movie gets where it's going very quickly -- within minutes Harry, Ron and Hermione had robbed Gringotts Bank and were hiding in Aberforth Dumbledore's bar. Most of the two-and-half-hour movie is spent preparing for and fighting the epic battle. And while certain of the the supporting cast did return -- for example, Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall, kicking butt and taking names as usual, raking in a few laughs to boot with her giddy and strangely out-of-character, "I've always wanted to use that spell!"; Matthew Lewis as the ever-wonderful Neville Longbottom, stepping out as the hero he's been all along; Robbie Coltrane as Groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Teacher Rubeus Hagrid; Warwick Davis as both the familiar Filius Flitwick (Charms) and the relatively new Griphook (goblin); Evanna Lynch as the beautiful, spacey, and slightly ethereal Luna Lovegood; David Thewlis as werewolf and former professor Remus Lupin; Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore; and the entire Weasley family, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), Fred (James Phelps), George (Oliver Phelps), Bill (Domhnal Gleason), Arthur (Mark Williams), and Molly (Julie Walters) -- other former cast members were very noticeably absent, or hardly there at all. The absence of Kenneth Branagh as Professor Lockhart I found particularly annoying. Though the character did not appear in the book, I had hoped that director David Yates would bring back all the old familiar faces, for nostalgia's sake, if nothing else.

The fact that Rubeus Hagrid did not appear until near the very end I also found very irritating. As the movie series has aged, directors Mike Newell and David Yates, respectively my least favorite and favorite of the string of directors, have placed less and less importance on Hagrid. They seem to have forgotten that Hagrid was Harry's very introduction to the wizarding world, as well as one of his best friends throughout the books. Even in "The Deathly Hallows", Harry, Ron and Hermione were at least worried about the safety of their half-giant friend, and are devastated when they witness his capture by the Death Eaters (previously to which, I might add, he put up a serious fight). In the movie, however, Hagrid appears at last already captured and bound in the Dark Forest, apparently having been easily subdued. His sole job here is, not to act as Harry's friend, but to carry Harry's apparently dead body back to Hogwarts. I'm afraid, had he not been given this job in the books, one of the worlds favorite characters may not have appeared at all.

Despite the absence of certain characters, the acting, when the characters did appear, was overall quite good.

Except.

Except for Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Bonnie Wright has been bugging me since "Order of The Phoenix". And it isn't that she's really terrible, or even that she's boring and forgettable.

It's that she plays the character all wrong.

Let me tell you something, and please remember it: Ginny Weasley is not a quiet, demure, awkward little hoverer who talks like she thinks she's in a fairy tale.

Ginny Weasley is a fiery, fierce, confident, hot-tempered, out-spoken young woman who acts like a normal girl and knows how to control herself.

But not in the movies! Oh, no. In the movies Ginny is every inch the quiet, demure, awkward little hoverer. For instance, the first time she sees Harry after six months of not knowing where he is, she screams out, "HARRY!!!" and then stands there awkwardly looking sheepish. Would Ginny of the books have done that? No! In the books, she simply says, "Hi, Harry." and makes absolutely sure that every girl in the room who's ever had a crush on Harry (particularly Cho Chang) knows that Harry is her property. Hands off, Cho. "Luna will show you the way, won't you, Luna?"

So like I said, she's not a bad actress. She's just wrong for the character. And maybe I'm the only one who notices or cares. Ginny happens to be one of my favorite characters in the books.

As for the rest of the cons... Well... There aren't any.

Yeah. That's it. Two cons. Absent characters and one mediocre performance.

And now, the pros.

Where do I begin?

At the beginning, I guess.

Warwick Davis' performance as Griphook the goblin and John Hurt's portrayal of Ollivander the wand-maker were SPOT ON. I mean, they were perfect. I've loved John Hurt's Ollivander since the beginning -- his performance fit the character I'd just begun reading about so perfectly. His eerie, creepy voice, big milky eyes, and iconic, "Iiii WONDERED when I'd be seeing YOU, Miiister Potter." were exactly as I'd pictured him when I read the book. And he was just as perfect now, a frail, beaten, weak old man, trying to excuse his fascination with death. Warwick Davis' performance was equally wonderful. You couldn't have asked for a colder, more devious goblin.

Aberforth Dumbledore (Ciaran Hinds) was not quite what I'd been hoping for, but all the same he captured Aberforth's bitterness perfectly.

Both the heist and and battle sequences were fabulous. This is all I'm going to say, but both brought tension, laughter, fear, excitement, tears, and some very suppressed cheering from our row.

Which brings me to my two favorite parts of any movie: My favorite character and the visual effects.

Severus Snape has always been my favorite character (alongside the Weasley twins -- RIP Fred), from the beginning -- even when I thought, and was meant to think, that he was evil and wanted Harry dead. Alan Rickman has always, in my opinion, been the best actor in the series. That is why I didn't mention him in my rather long-winded list of familiar faces -- I wanted to save him for later.

As I said before, my family and I sobbed pretty much all the way through the movie, start to finish. But where did I really start to sob? Snape's death scene, and The Prince's Tale. Ho. Lee. Cow. As one of my close guy-friends says, "Alan Rickman took what would otherwise have been a good movie, and turned it into a great movie." My respects to you, Mr Rickman. As to Professor Snape, you are always in our hearts. Always.

And now... The visual effects!!!

So, this movie was no "Lord of The Rings". I know a lot of film critics are comparing the two series, but the fact is, "Deathly Hallows" just isn't on the level of my favorite trilogy. It never will be. But that doesn't change the fact that the visual effects in this movie were excellent. Not phenomenal. But excellent.

There are, of course, the standard completely computer-animated things: the dragon, the giants. I've never been a big fan of the effects under any director, although Buckbeak the hippogriff and Dobby the house-elf I've always found very impressive. This dragon was, however, quite good in comparison even with Grawp the giant back in "Order of The Phoenix".

The real visual attraction for me in these movies are the prosthetics and things of that kind. Computer graphics have always been low on my list of impressive effects -- puppets, sets, forced perspective, makeup, costumes, models, and tangible things that fool the human eye I find infinitely more fascinating.

The two things that made the visual effects in this movie as good as they were, for me anyway, were the goblins and Voldemort. Warwick Davis really honestly looked like a goblin. I believed him. There was not a trace of Professor Flitwick on him, not even in his eyes. And those prosthetics looked so real! All the goblins looked completely real, completely tangible and there.

And Voldemort was the same way! A hah-YOU-ge step up from the animated face (with, I might add, a NOSE) we saw back in "Sorceror's Stone" sticking out of the back of Professor Quirrel's head. He is scary! And scary-looking is hard to do.

And now we come to the end of my review of the end of one of the greatest series, movie or book, of all time. The series has come to define our generation the way rebellion came to define the 1920's, war came to define the 1940's, and bad clothing came to define the 1980's. Harry has been a part of our lives for thirteen years now. He has been one of my most constant (albeit most fictional) companions for nearly half of my life. And now he has finally gone away -- grown up and left us behind. But it is consoling to know that we still have the books, and great movies like this one, to remember him by.

Goodbye, Harry! We'll miss you! Thank you for everything.

(PS: "Half-Blood Prince" was still a better movie, IMO)

Because I'm Me; A Year Without Makeup

This is... Me.

No special lighting tricks. No brown eyeliner to emphasize how blue my eyes are. No fancy hairstyles. No foundation to cover up my acne and red spots. Braces, forehead wrinkles, shiny cheeks, and pimples fully visible.

Just... Me.

And you know what?

I like Me.

I like the way I look in this photo. I like my smile. I like my face-shape. I like my eyes squinting up because I'm smiling with this face-shape. I like how healthy my skin is looking lately, how even though there is still acne on my face, it is way better than it was even a few weeks ago. I like that I look beautiful in this picture, even with the acne and forehead wrinkles and skin discolorations.

Maybe even because of the acne and forehead wrinkles and skin discolorations.

I know, right? A person calling herself beautiful? Isn't that, like, taboo? Aren't I supposed to say, "I know I'm pretty, but I wish I didn't have acne. I wish my face was symmetrical. I wish my nostrils weren't uneven. I wish my eyebrows weren't naturally scraggly. I wish I didn't have these weird curly cowlicks next to my ears."

And all those things are true. I do have acne. My face is not symmetrical. My nostrils are uneven (not that you ever noticed, right?). My eyebrows are naturally scraggly. I do have weird curly cowlicks next to my ears.

But tonight I found myself liking them, not wishing them away. Because they're a part of Me.

And I'm beautiful.

And I know it.

For the past few weeks I've kept telling myself and my family that I wear makeup because it's fun to put on. This is partially true. I go through makeup phases. Sometimes I wear winged eyeliner and bright red lipstick every day. Sometimes it's all minimalism, just foundation and powder and a bit of mascara. Sometimes I do a different makeup routine every week. But what it usually comes down to is this: Bronzer to make me look tanner, mascara and eyeliner to make my eyes look bigger, eye shadow to make them look bluer and my eyebrows look thicker, and foundation and powder to make my skin look clearer.

Why?

Because I wasn't happy with how I looked naturally. Reread that last paragraph carefully -- what you'll get is this: No matter what style of makeup I'm wearing, without it, my skin is too pale, my eyes are too small, my eyebrows are too thin, my face is too broken out.

I'm too much, or I'm not enough. Too much, or not enough.

But today I didn't go anywhere. I woke up this morning, didn't like the way my face looked, but didn't feel like trying, so I put on some foundation and powder and left it at that. And tonight, when I washed off the little makeup I was wearing, I realized that I looked even prettier with the makeup off.

Sure, my skin was blotchy. Sure, my eyes looked tired. But I looked natural. I looked happy, and contented, and cheerful. I looked at myself, and I liked what I saw.

So I made a decision. It's a pretty drastic one. Prepare yourself. Are you sitting down?

Okay, here it is.

Starting today, July 30, 2011, I am not going to wear any makeup for a year.

None.

Well, except for performances. You have to wear makeup for those -- a LOT of makeup for those, or the audience won't be able to tell if you have eyes or not. And it's kind of important that the audience know I have eyes. And Halloween. I love going all-out for Halloween. This year I'm going as Jack Sparrow. Why? Because Jack Sparrow's awesome, that's why.

But besides that, no makeup until July 30th, 2012. No matter where I'm going, what I'm doing, no makeup.

Because I'm gorgeous without it. The way you see me in that picture is the way I really am. And I'm gorgeous.

Now, I'll still wear cute outfits. That really is something I do for fun. I love clothes. Clothes are amazing. And I'll still mess around with my hair, change it up, have fun with it. I've never been insecure about my hair. And I'll be taking good care of myself -- sunscreen, washing my face every morning and every night. Just because I'm not wearing makeup anymore doesn't mean I don't want to be healthy. I'm planning on growing my hair out really long for a couple of years and then cutting it all off -- maybe a pixie cut? -- and donating it. And the whole time I'll be looking beautiful.

Because God gave me gorgeous, healthy blonde hair. He gave me lovely, sparkling blue eyes. He gave me pale skin, and a round face, and dry, acne-prone skin, and a big smile, and forehead wrinkles, and a long neck. He gave those things to me. And lots of people have those things, but nobody has them quite like I do. All those things make me unique. 

Right now, I'm thinking of a certain lodge in Lake City, Colorado. I'm standing on the porch, breathing in the thin mountain air. All around me are pine trees, beautiful deep green pine trees, clear blue skies, breathtakingly amazing mountains. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in all my life.

But you know what?

I am more beautiful than those mountains. I am more beautiful, deeper, clearer, more breathtaking, and more amazing than that landscape I looked at this summer. I am. With or without makeup.

Why?

Because I'm me.

(PS: I highly recommend that before making any decision like mine, you give it some serious thought and prayer. It is a drastic lifestyle change, and therefore will not be easy. However, with God on your side, you can do anything. Thank you for checking out my blog!)

Metamorphosis Church Camp, 2011

I'm back home and glad to be so! The thing about camp is that it's always fun while you're there, but by the end, you are MORE than ready to leave.

A (haha) "Day-By-Day Play-By-Play" of my camp weekend:

Day 1: Get on bus, sweat for two hours, get off bus, unpack our junk in cabins, go to dinner, go to worship, realize, "Wow, it usually isn't this powerful till later in the week," and start to realize that God is not going to even come close to leaving you alone this week. Great sermon by Pastor Jason, then head off for ice cream. On the way a girl I've never met before turns around and says to me, "Isn't the moon beautiful?!" At the same time, my other friend says to me, "What do you think of my new skirt?", and I reply cheerfully, to both girls at once, "Oh yeah! It's really cute!". So, yes, the moon is 'cute', and with an introduction like that, I know that the girl and I are going to be amazing friends. She tells me her name is Megan, and greets me with a bear hug. Within a few minutes, I realize I've found a girl my age who is just as in love with God as I am, and far more outspoken about it. I mean, she literally cannot shut up about Him. She can't stop smiling and pointing out beautiful things. She brings out the best in me, the part that I've been repressing most of my life, because, well, even with my Christian friends (who are amazing) it's not always socially acceptable to rave about how much you're in love with God. This girl sounds like most people do when they leave an awesome concert put on by their favorite band, but more in love. I'm enthralled. I warn her that I will probably stalk her all weekend, because that's just the kind of person I think everyone wants to be around; I certainly do. She says she would love for me to hang with her. First day, already made a possible life-long friend -- she's certainly the kind of girl I want around for life. After ice cream, we head back to the activity center for late-night, with music, team-building games and team-spirit competitions. And then we all head back to our cabins and SLEEEEEEEP. Lights out at 11:30.

Bus-ride to Camp

Day 2: Up at 8:30! Get dressed, head to breakfast. My friends Madeleine, Stephen 1, Stephen 2, Will, and Tori and I all sit together. Not surprisingly, we're all kind of out of it. The food's actually quite good. After breakfast, we have a few minutes of free-time before heading to the worship center to start our day. Worship, a short sermon, and then we break into teams. Megan isn't on my team -- I'm kind of disappointed. It's okay, though, because Madeleine is, and so is my cousin Rachel and her friend Faith. First on our list of activities is to build a crest and write a team "rap". I like to draw, so, thinking it's something like what a knight would have put on a shield in medieval times, I volunteer to help with the crest. However, I mostly end up following the orders of a much better-prepared team-member, because I completely misunderstood what they meant by "crest". Our rap turns out awfully, but for the record, our crest is quite good. His name is Patchy, and he is my boyfriend.

Patchy: My boyfriend

After we finish our team-building stuff we migrate back to the cafeteria for lunch. I sit with my friends again, sneaking nervous glances at the rest of our team, most of whom our sitting together. I like my team, but I like my friends better. When we're done, we get a short break, and the our games for the day.

First day of outdoor activities: Wet games! First we have slip-n-slide bowling against the White Cornrows (NOTE: We're the Light Pink Soul Patches). Each team lines up behind a slip-n-slide. Trying to be as sportsman-like as possible, we cheer on the other team as much as we can, while still encouraging each other. When it's my turn, I go down too soon, and only go forward a couple of feet, stopping before I reach the pins. However, instead of getting embarrassed, I just reach out and punch the pins as hard as I could. The leaders count it and give us points. We lose, but we still have a lot of fun. We end up forming an alliance with the Cornrows. "White Pink! White Pink! White Pink!"

Next game is the Paddling Relay. Eight members of the team, four boys and four girls, line up behind an inflatable boat. The first member of the team jumps into the boat and paddles it across the swimming pool with his/her arms and legs. Then, when they reach the other side, they pull the next team member in the boat across the pools using a rope. We lose that one, too, and we don't have as much fun. It is fun, though, because it was hot hot HOT outside and we get to swim.

After that we have "Pirate Booty" (don't laugh). The objective is to swim along the bottom of the pool and gather together as many pennies as you can (the pennies were already scattered there). We lose. But again, swimming on a hot day = GOOD thing..

Our last game we lose as well, and it is the least fun of all the games we've played so far. We lay down on our backs, foot-to-foot with another member of our team, on a burning hot, soaking wet, wood-chip-and-mud-covered plastic mat, and carefully pass down a bucket full of water using only our feet. That's totally pointless, as well, because when we've passed it all along the line, we have to pass it back, put it on the ground, and move on to another bucket, from which we pull a wet sponge and race to empty all the water from that into yet another bucket. The one we passed has nothing to do with the main part of the game whatsoever. We're all fairly grumpy when we head back to our cabins to get ready to perform our rap.

Our rap is not good. We aren't the only ones with a mediocre rap, of course, but it feels that way, because the team that went before us did quite well. Afterwards, it is much harder to boost team moral, but we manage it, cheering each other and giving out high-fives. So we are in a considerably better mood during free-time.

During said free-time, I intend to take a nap, but just end up sitting on my bed in my thankfully air-conditioned cabin reading "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". We reluctantly exert energy and leave the cabin for the cafeteria at dinnertime. Once again, I sit with my friends rather than my team. We have a great time, talking and laughing about how tired we already are and telling each other about our days. When we're done, we make our way to the worship center. Worship is easily the best part of the day. God makes up for the heat and nasty games. I honestly don't think a single person is able to keep from crying that night.

After another brilliant sermon by Pastor Jason, we go back for ice cream, where I see Megan again. Once again, all we can talk about is how amazing God is. I feel so much better just being around her. I decide that she is an absolute blessing, and then we go back for late night.

During this time, we find out who won the rap and crest competitions. We win neither, but we are very impressed with the ones who do. And it's alright, because there's always tomorrow.

When we're done, back to the cabins, and thank Jesus for SHOWERS. And sleep.

Day 3: Alarm rings at 8:00, warning us to get up and into the showers for breakfast. I showered last night. I go back to sleep. I figure that the longer I wait, the shorter the line will get and the more rested I'll feel. I'm right. Breakfast is good, but once again, my friends and I are zoning. We head to morning service. Worship is great. So is the sermon. Chelsea, one of our supervisors, tells us that, due to the extreme heat, outdoor activities had been moved to the morning, and team-building activities, which happened indoors, could take place in the late afternoon, when the sun would be hottest. YAY!!!

First activity: kickball. Non-athletic girls, head to the outfield. Stand wayyyyy back. If the ball comes to you, throw it to somebody who can pitch, run, or do something else of that kind. Me, Madeleine, and Rachel, follow the order. I'm pretty cool with it. Even though it's earlier in the day, it's still quite hot, and I'd rather not exert too much energy just yet. We have a couple of the less athletic boys and more athletic girls back here with us, so I don't have to worry about running after the ball. My job is to cheer and look prepared. I can do that.

I don't have to kick, either. The game ends before my turn. I'm kind of glad. I'm not great at kickball, as proven by years of P.E. classes. My team would have been quite nice about it, but I'd have been pretty embarrassed. We lose, but oh well. We cheer quite loudly for both our team and the other. Spirit points!

After that, tug-o-war. First two games, we kick some butt. We have some pretty big kids on our team, some quite athletic little volleyball/basketball players, and then kids like me, who read all day, but really do try. But when we split up girls against girls and guys against guys, we lose both games. I guess we're better together. Once again, we're pitted against the Cornrows. Two of them come and help us pull during the first two games, so we cheer extra-loud for them.

Then, we move on to... Uh... Roll-The-Huge-Inflatable-Blue-Ball-Over-The-BMX-Course. I'm not kidding. That's the game. We won, but I didn't play. Patchy's neck broke, so I was busy being a good girlfriend and repairing him. But we still won, and we lined up at the end of the course and cheered as hard as we could for the other team. It was nice to sit in the shade.

Dodgeball next! Or... Gaga-ball. As the camp calls it. (Whhhhhaaaaat...?) We pile into a fenced-in circle and throw balls at each other. If the ball hits you, you're out. If you move while holding the ball, you're technically out, but it's hard not to move, so they cut us some slack. Once, I was the last of two people in the ring against three more of the opposing team. I grabbed the ball and accidentally stumbled forward. "You're not supposed to move while you're throwing the ball!" one of the boys shouts at me. "I'm -- sorry!" I shout, throwing the ball. It hits him in the legs. Pwnage.

We lose that game, but team morale is high. We leave with a shout of "LIGHT PINK!" and head to lunch. When we're done, we head to the worship center to begin our team challenge, which is to build a mascot. Once again, I basically just follow orders. Our mascot is a Sour Patch Kid ("Soul Patch" kid), and we have very limited supplies, less than the other teams. The other team sharing the room with us (Megan's team) has fabric, rubber ducks, string, paint, duct-tape, markers, cardboard, and tons of other stuff -- we have some boxes and a bottle of pink paint. We manage to make a pretty good figure out of the boxes, but to cover it all we had to mix it with water, so it was too thin and wouldn't cover the markings on the box. Then we tried as hard as we could to throw sugar onto the box, but it wouldn't stick right and we mostly just sugared ourselves. In the end, we just sort of left it.

Free-time! I took a nap. It felt wonderful. I felt amazing. I didn't manage a shower before dinner, but I wasn't the only one. Dinner with my friends. Then we go back to the worship center.

Ho. Lee. COW. Within two songs, I am on the floor unable to move or stop laughing. People around me are sobbing and praying at the top of their lungs.Worship goes on half an hour longer than intended, and even after it's over I can't stop laughing. Pastor Ben had to take me out of the sanctuary and into a separate room to calm down, and I'm still in there cracking up fifteen minutes later. Incredible. After God finally lets up on me a bit, I go back in and manage to catch the last few minutes of the sermon. We all end up praying for each other, arms around shoulders, hand in hand, weeping over the shoulders of people we've never even seen before.

We finally leave for ice cream. I meet Megan at the same spot. We share our experiences during worship, both of us practically dancing with excitement. I tell her about the atmosphere of absolute joy around her. She tells me about the atmosphere of peace and tranquility and contentment I have around me. It completely makes my day. I never knew I gave off any sort of atmosphere at all.

Back for late night. During worship, I twisted my ankle jumping up and down, so by late night it's quite swollen. Madeleine had actually passed out from the presence of Jesus, and she's still quite light-headed. We end up sitting outside and just hangin' out. We dance in our seats to a lot of the songs, and dramatically cover our ears when Justin Bieber comes on (aforementioned Bieber will henceforth be known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), and manage to hear that our best guy-friend Stephen Scroggs' team won the mascot contest with their cardboard Captain America. We cheer from outside.

Afterwards we head back to the cabins. Showers. Sleep.

Day 4: Sleep in once again. Breakfast, morning service. Great worship. Great sermon. Outdoor activities.

First: Leaping Lily-Pads. Find a partner on your team, tie your ankles together, hop from one wooden "lily-pad" to the other. Touch the ground, start over. At the end, grab onto the rope and try to swing into the hula hoop. The girl I partner with is heavyset, insecure, and a known pessimist. The whole time we're going she keeps saying, "We're gonna lose, we're never gonna make this, I'm too fat." As she predicts, we don't make it, and she doesn't even try. Needless to say, I'm quite frustrated with her as we head back. She starts complaining, "My knee hurts, my knee hurts, I don't want to do this anymore." Annoyed and used to her over-exaggerating everything, I snap back, "No, come on, we're gonna keep going." As it turns out, her knee-cap doesn't grow with the rest of her body and isn't strong enough for this game. She really does need to sit down. I feel awful and sit down beside her to keep her company.

At the end of the game (which we lose, but only by one point), our leader comes over to take the girl to see the medics. I explain what's the matter, and she tells me to return with the team. Still feeling quite guilty about yelling at her the way I did and making her keep walking on her bad knee, making it worse, I reply that I don't think that's fair. But before I can explain why, my leader looks at me in shock, as though she can't believe that I have an opinion on the subject and makes me go back without giving me a chance to explain myself at all. My spirits are quite low as I return to the team.

Next we have an obstacle course, which we do blind-folded. We lose, but again by one point again.

Finally, we have a puzzle. By this point my mood has improved. We run out to find our team's designated pieces of wood, and make a puzzle. We scream each other on and cheer our hardest for the Cornrows, who we're playing against again. "White pink, white pink, white pink!" We finally win!

And we're done. We're actually a bit relieved, and also a bit sad. We just finished our last game together as a team.

Lunch.

On to team-building activity! Actually, today we go to watch baptisms on the lake. I find Megan and we stand together and cheer on the newly born-agains. We cry. It's amazing.

I head back to my cabin for some prayer time and to get a bit of reading in. After a while I shower and change. Dinner. Worship, during which I'm filled with absolute peace and contentment. Sermon. I cry. Back for ice cream, talk to Megan. Go back to late night, and Megan and I hang out and dance while a Christian hip-hop group performs. People are crowd-surfing, Megan gives me a huge hug and tells me that in the past week I've shown her more love than anyone else in her life, ever, besides Jesus. Wow. All I can do is hug her back.

We return to our cabins for the last night. We're all a little teary.

Day 5: Get up earlier than any other day. Pack our things, take our suitcases to the buses on the way to breakfast. Eat. Put on our fully adorable camp shirts for the camp photo. I sit with my best friend Stephen (the Scroggs one I mentioned earlier) and Madeleine. It takes forever and we're burning hot, but eventually we get it done. We change again for the bus-ride home. Clean our cabins. Say a tearful farewell to the girls who won't be on our buses, and even get a little weepy because we may never see the cabin that has been our home for four days again, and if we do... It just won't be the same. Finally pile onto the buses, wait impatiently in the heat until the buses start moving, and then shout a last goodbye to the camp staff as we finally pull away.

Two heat-filled hours later, we're back at the air-conditioned church and ready to go back to our separate lives. My mom is waiting for me in the church coffee shop. I grab my suitcase. It's time to go home.


That weekend was a strange one. In some ways it was bad. In many others, it was amazing. It took me a full week to even process it enough to blog about it. I decided that it was definitely the best camp experience I've ever had, socially and spiritually, even if our team was somewhat lacking. I really, truly, met God in person. He was there. When I closed my eyes I could see Him. I made a new best friend and grew closer than ever to my old ones. I was ready to go home when it was over, but I still miss it, and probably will for a long time. I'd like to go back someday, but as Pastor Jason says, "That was just a mountain. It's time to break camp and move on."

"Yahweh, our God, spoke to us, saying, 'You have lived long enough on this mountain. It is time for you to break camp and move on... Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them... Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are this day as the stars of the sky for the multitude.  Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as He has promised you!"
-- Deuteronomy 1:6-11

Camp :)

I'm leaving in about an hour! I'm pretty excited. I've never been to MOR camp before, so it should be interesting.

I will be taking pictures for later use.

But, since I'll be at camp, and there are no computers at camp (how are we going to survive?), I won't be posting anything until Monday, maybe after, because there is a huge possibility that I will get home and just feel too lazy to do anything that requires coherent thought.

I will be back though, so don't miss me too much :P

Daily Outfit: 7/6/11

Printed Floral Shirt: Hand-me-down Similar print, different cut
High-waisted Cut-offs: I chopped up some old hand-me-down jeans similar (MUCH shorter)
Old Flip-Flops: Payless Shoe Source Similar


One of the blogs I follow does this exact daily segment. She has a great sense of style and I love her outfits. I love my outfits, too, so I though I would do the segment, too. 'Cause I'm a bit of a copycat.

See? REALLY old flip-flops. The flowers fell off.

(PS: I apologize for the lighting quality. We took them at nighttime. I hate flash.)

"Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Review **SPOILERS**

My Rating Scale:
* = AWFUL
** = Pretty bad
*** = Not great, but still worth seeing
**** = Memorable, really good
***** = FANTASTIC

"Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
Story ***
Characters *****
Performance ****
Standing As A Sequel **
Overall Rating ***

PoTC 4 is easily the worst in the series. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it -- I did -- but in comparison with the other movies, "The Curse of The Black Pearl" especially, it pales. A lot.

Part of it was, of course, the gaping absence of William Turner and Elizabeth Swann, both of whom are much beloved characters from the original three movies. Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp), the unquestioned favorite character, remained. It was nice to see a movie that focuses just on Jack... Except it didn't just focus on Jack.

The movie was billed to us as a sort of spin-off story, a movie that closes off Jack's story the same way Will's and Elizabeth's were closed off. Jack would finally get a love interest (played by Penelope Cruz), would reach the Fountain of Youth and make a decision, either to live forever or to be content with the life he was given, and then sail off into the sunset with his girlfriend beside him as epic music played us into the credits. And the series would be over. Much-loved and stretched to the breaking point, but unquestionably over.

But no. Not only does Jack not actually get the girl (he gets her, but leaves her on an island -- why? Don't ask me), he does not sail off into the sunset. The movie ends with him making plans to retrieve his ship, and we are left on a cliff-hanger, and we leave the theater knowing that there will be another sequel, and we will have to come back and watch it, because we love Jack too much not to come back.

Not only that, but the movie gives us yet another side-romance, this time between a very handsome missionary and a mermaid. I know how weird that sentence sounds. Try typing it. Philip Swift (played by Sam Claflin) is a missionary who is taken captive by Blackbeard (played by Ian McShane) during a raid on his village, rather than killed, because Blackbeard wants someone to put in a good word for him with God. So tying the "someone" to the mast is definitely a good way to make sure that the word he gives God is actually good.

One of the problems I had with this movie was that Philip's name was mentioned about twice throughout the whole film. My friends and I still think of him as "that cute missionary dude", because for the longest time we had no idea what his name was. And then there was the matter of his love story.

Why, oh, why, must movie-makers persist in creating romances for every handsome guy in their films? They seem to work by the rule "He is handsome: Therefore he must have a girlfriend and not die". Philip is badly wounded, but I didn't feel any tension. I knew he would live, because he's good-looking. And guess what? He lived.

His romance with the mermaid Syrena (played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey) is pretty sweet. He sees her, thinks she's pretty, and rather than kill her gets her captured by Blackbeard's men, and then takes care of her as they march her to the ritual grounds; they need one of her tears to successfully drink from the Fountain of Youth. Then, when she is left to die and he is wounded, he frees her and she heals him, and then they swim off into the distance to live what I assume is happily ever after. The love story itself didn't bother me -- it was the fact that the movie-makers thought it was necessary. Rather than, I don't know, give us a male character with some depth all his own that isn't defined by a girl, with some real character development that isn't driven by a girl, they gave us a male character whose story is entirely defined by a girl. Honestly, he wasn't there to pray for Blackbeard. He was there to fall in love. Other than that, his character made no impact on the actual story. He was unnecessary, had about three minutes of dialogue with the main characters, and took his shirt off. That seems to be a very popular thing to do among handsome male characters these days. At least when Jack Sparrow did it it was funny, because there were about fifty half-naked Jacks running around a ship making animal noises.

Now, I actually did like Philip as a character. Had he been given some real character development, he would have been excellent. Sam Claflin performed him very well, his faith in God was evident, and he seemed like a really great guy. Unfortunately, the only time I saw him show his great-guy-ness was when he was around Syrena, and once when he tried to stop Blackbeard from murdering somebody.

This brings us to Syrena. She was captured by the crew to use one of her tears for the Fountain of Youth, fell in love with Philip (you know how I feel about that) and... Yeah, that's pretty much it. Like Philip, she had very little character development. Mostly she stares at people. What really bugs me about this is that she really had the potential to be a great character. When we first meet her, she saves Philip from a falling, flaming log. Clearly she has good qualities. But, like Philip, she is entirely defined by her romance. She does matter to the story, as her tears are needed, but she might as well have been a prop for all the impact she makes on it.

The main story, however, does manage to hold up. Geoffrey Rush returns as Barbossa, now one-legged and uglier than ever, on a quest for revenge against Blackbeard. The latter apparently attacked and sunk his ship, tried to kill Barbossa by bringing the ship to life, wrapping a rope around Barbossa's ankle, and trying to pull him down to the bottom. Barbossa, desperate to live, severed his own leg and vowed vengeance. Jack actually ends up helping him. The best scene in the movie takes place when Jack and Barbossa are both captured by I don't remember who, and discuss their plans. It sounds boring, but it isn't.

Meanwhile, Jack has his own romance going with Penelope Cruz, Blackbeard's daughter Angelica, which unfortunately goes unfulfilled. I really wanted him to get the girl; he certainly deserved it, after having his heart broken by Elizabeth again... and again... and again... But, Jack being Jack, and Jack being unpredictable, he saves her life and then maroons her on an island. Poor Penelope. How sexist of him.

In the end, Blackbeard dies, Barbossa gets his revenge, the missionary and the mermaid swim off into the ocean, and Jack's is, once again, the only story that goes unresolved.

This could have been a fantastic movie. It had the potential. But it just didn't try. Was it awful? Absolutely not. Was it fantastic? Absolutely not. Was it memorable? Sometimes. Is it worth seeing? Yes. The scenery is beautiful, the acting is great, there are both moments of poignancy and moments of great humour, and there are times when all you can do is laugh and say, "There's the Jack we know and love". Because he's there, and we do love him, and in a year or so we'll all head back to the theater to see PoTC 5, because he deserves it, even if the side characters and/or movie-makers don't.

So, to be prepared, we shall need a goat, a man who plays the trumpet, and someone to stand off to the side and do THIS.

You know a man who owns a goat...

Good. You can play the trumpet and I shall stand off to the side and do THIS.

Savvy?

The Top 10 Movies I Like But Everyone Else Seems To Hate

10.) Avatar (No, not The Last Airbender)
This just came out a couple of years ago, and it did really well in the Box Office (I mean, really REALLY well, as in, the highest grossing film of ALL TIME) but everyone I asked about it really seemed to hate it. I don't understand that. I watched it with my family, and we all really enjoyed it. It wasn't perfect by any means -- there was that whole thing about Jake saying that "Pandora was his land" when in fact, he was an invader, too, and so just as much to blame for the destruction of Home Tree as the rest of the humans, and then there were the not-so-subtle similarities to the Pocahontas story, which they never really owned up to -- but it was well-meant and almost well-done, nonetheless, not to mention gorgeous to watch. Plus, Sam Worthington is cute.

9.) Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
I love Tim Burton. Therefore, I love anything directed by Time Burton. It just goes without  saying -- but I'm still saying it. I actually really enjoyed the recent remake of the Chocolate Factory. I of course loved the old version with Gene Wilder playing Mr Wonka, but the tones of the two movies are completely different. The Wilder version is sweeter and more light-hearted, while the Depp version is darker, stranger, and more twister -- which, if you've read the original Roald Dahl book upon which both movies are based, like I have, you'll have to agree is far more accurate. In fact, though the premise is the same with both movies, the older version is completely INaccurate, with the newer version being by-the-book in almost everything, right down to the dialogue. Roald Dahl was the Tim Burton of his era, coming out with books such as "Matilda", "The BFG", "James and The Giant Peach", "The Twits", and "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory", to name a few, the like of which had really never been read before. Dahl was NOT your cookie-cutter author, much like today's Tim Burton. In fact, Roald Dahl despised the sweet-as-sugar Wilder version that came out while he was still alive. I think I can safely say that he would like the new version much better, and, truth be told, so do I. Tim Burton directing a film based on a book by Roald Dahl? It's a perfect fit, and I hope to see it again.

8.) Pride And Prejudice (2005)
I put this one pretty low on the list because most of the girls I know, myself included, actually love this version. That's why I was so shocked to find out that in the world of Jane Austen fan-dom, this version is considered amateur at best, and downright insulting at worst. I don't see where they get this idea. On the technical side of things, the acting and writing is great, and the photography and lighting are simply stunning, while on the romantic side... Well, let's just say my heart pounds every time Mr Darcy proposes. EVERY time. Of course, in some ways I prefer the ever-popular BBC version (mostly I just prefer Colin Firth) but really all in all, this version is sweeter, smarter, kinder, prettier to look at, and more romantic -- which, after all, is the point of any Jane Austen book or film.

7.) The Black Cauldron
This is considered to be one of the worst Disney animated films of all time, if not THE worst, and I can understand why. The movie pales in comparison to most of the studio's other films, such as "101 Dalmations", "Bambi" or "The Lion King". Besides that, it scared the living snot out of every kid who watched it -- also understandable. The villain is by far Disney's creepiest, with his deep, gravelly voice and skeleton mask, both of which rival Tolkien's Nazgul on the creep-o-meter. But, surprisingly, the villain is what saves this movie for me. Yeah, he scared to to tears as a child, but now he's kinda cool, in a Voldemort-ish sort of way. Besides, with characters like a dumb-blonde, whiny-voiced princess who follows shiny objects around, a useless farmboy who fails even at keeping an eye on one single, tiny pig, and that *shudders* "Gurgy" thing, how can you not like the Skeleton King, even if it's just a little bit? At least he's exciting.

6.) Inspector Gadget
I'm just gonna say this right now: I love Matthew Broderick. I know I'm in the minority on this, but it's true. I think he's very talented, and can certainly act when given a good script to work with (for example, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "The Freshman", "The Lion King"). Unfortunately, this movie's script isn't really that great, and at times Broderick's performance is almost laughable. But... I don't know, maybe it's nostalgia, but I can't help but like this movie. It's fun to watch, innocent, and obviously well-intended, and despite its shortcomings it has a certain charm to it. It has an almost childish feel, like the big sappy grin a kid gets when he manages to make a grown-up laugh. It's impossible not to like, at least for me, so that's why it's claimed number 6 on my list.

5.) Mission Impossible III
This was the first film I saw of the MI series, and I seriously loved it. In fact, I was absolutely stunned when I found out that most MI fans hate this movie with a passion. I really don't know why they hate it so much. The story's great, Tom Cruise's acting is fantastic (the opening scene had me frozen, shocked, and with my mouth hanging open), and I LOVE the editing. It of course has flaws, but those are pretty much limited to the speed of the story -- I at times felt that it was moving too fast. When I eventually did watch the first two of the series, I of course loved them, but MI3 didn't change for me. Actually, although I found it wasn't as good as the first, I liked it better than MI2. It seemed to me that director JJ Abrams, as well as production team Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, made a sincere effort to make a sequel that told a different story than, but was just as good as, its predecessors, and it shows. It was bittersweet, edgy, and fun to watch, and therefore deserving of the first top spot on my list.

4.) Beastly
This movie was, almost literally, ravaged by critics. Although it was eaten up by the teenage girl/"Twilight" fan demographic, I'm not kidding; I could not find one single review that did not tear this movie limb-from-limb. Even my thirteen-year-old sister came home saying that it was okay, but it felt kind of empty and she'd seen better. So why, you ask, is "Beastly" number four on this list? Well, 'cause... 'cause it's romantic! There, I said it. I, Lauren Elizabeth Smith, think that a chick flick, and not just any chick flick, a chick-flick intended to rake in money from Robert-Pattinson-obssessed "Twilight" fans, is romantic. That's not all, either. I thought it was well-written, well-acted, and a good take on the "Beauty and The Beast" story. Plus, Neil Patrick Harris is just adorable, regardless of... certain aspects of his character.

3.) Prince Caspian
Even though most of my friends really enjoyed it (many of my female friends, including myself, particularly enjoyed a rather grown-up William Moseley as Peter Pevensie and tall-dark-and-handsome new-comer Ben Barnes as the title character), this film was a flop with the majority of the series' fans, mainly because of drastic changes from the original storyline created by CS Lewis (for instance, the romance between Prince Caspian and Susan Pevensie). However, I love this movie. While I also adore the book, "Prince Caspian" is probably my least favorite book of the series. While never lacking in the charm possessed by all the Narnia books, the storyline by turns tended to become rather dull and confusing, and I occassionally found myself wishing I was reading other books instead. Leaving the story as it was would have ruined the movie (as proven by the gosh-awful BBC series) and the changes were necessary to successfully "cinematize" the story. Director Andrew Adamson did a wonderful job, and the changes fit seamlessly into the original storyline, amking an entertaining, engaging, interesting, and sometimes bittersweet film that truly reflects on who God is and what He expects from us.

2.) King Kong (2005)
Even though there are lots of people who think that this is the only remake truly capable of rivaling the original 1933 picture, I put this one really high on my list because it has managed to place sixth in my list of top favorite movies of all time, a position at extreme odds with the people who think that any remake is an insult to the original. I really can't say if it is -- I've never seen the old one. As a stand-alone film, though, "King Kong" rocks, even if there are a few hokey, over-the-top moments (i.e., three T-Rex-es battling to the death over on tiny human doesn't really make much sense, but it makes for a pretty epic battle sequence). I hope to see the original someday, but even when I do, I'm sure it won't change my opinion about this great remake.

And the number 1 movie I like but everyone else seems to hate is...

1.) Steven Speilberg's War of The Worlds (2005)
This movie has probably gotten the most crap out of any movie Mr Speilberg has created (excpet maybe the newest Indiana Jones movie, which, by the way, would be number 11 on this list if there was a number 11). Unlike the other films I've mentioned, I honestly can't find one single reason why it's considered as bad as it is -- actually, in my list of all-time favorite movies, it placed fourth. I've heard all the arguments against it, though, so I'm going to dispute them one at a time.
a) The aliens look stupid.
Think about it. If you ever met one of those things in realy life, how would you react? Would you say, "Hey, you look stupid"? No. You'd pee your pants.
b) The writing is bad.
No it isn't. I've seen badly written movies ("G Force"), and this is not one of them. Actually, the writing seems very natural and down-to-earth. This is stuff people actually say.
c) If the aliens had been studying us for millions of years, why didn't they realize that our bacteria would kill them?
It's like stepping on one of those poisonous Japanese fish. You know it's there, but you forget to watch out for it, you step on it, and you die. Really, I just think the aliens got cocky -- like "We have all this advanced technology, and these humans are so primitive. Surely we can handle something like bacteria."
d) Dakota Fanning's character is annoying.
Yeah, she is, but so would any kid be in that situation. Kids can get really annoying, especially when they're scared. How Rachel acts is how a real kid would act. Heck, I'm fifteen, and I'd probably scream for Mommy, too.
e) Tom Cruise is annoying.
Oh, hush. Now you're just clutching at straws. This is because he's a scientologist, isn't it? Thought so. Look, just because you don't like the guy doesn't mean he has no talent. He did wonderfully in this movie. So there.

Books And Their Covers

So recently I've been really really thinking about physical appearances. Not in that I'm obsessing over mine or anyone else's, but in that I've been thinking about the effect they have on people.

A few weeks, maybe months, ago, I had a friend over and we were watching "Pirates of The Caribbean". She made a very flippant, off-hand comment about Keira Knightley's weight (Miss Knightley is a very thin girl) and told me that Keira was without a doubt anorexic.

I asked her how she knew. Had Keira admitted it publicly? Had their been a diagnosis?

No, she could just tell. After all, Keira was so skinny. Anyone that skinny has to be anorexic.

Now, this friend is very dear to me and I love her with all my heart. But this was not the first time she had made this kind of comment.

And I think this is a very common assumption. The same way that most people automatically "know" that a larger girl eats too much McDonalds, most people "know" in the same way that super-skinny girls don't eat at all.

Let me ask you something: Does Keira Knightley look unhealthy? Does she look as though she's been starving herself? No. Her skin looks healthy, her face is full, she has a lot of energy. Is her supposed anorexia a possibility? Yes. She is admittedly extremely skinny. Is it possible that she's just naturally very thin? Absolutely. Probable, even.

Is it even any of our business?

No.

Now, Keira Knightley is a celebrity. I understand that putting herself in the spotlight like that is going to bring her some unwanted attention, and I'm sure she understands that, too. People will, from now until she is either dead or forgotten by the public, always know details about her love life, family life, and social life that should otherwise be kept private.

But her body?

We are not living in her body. Her body does not provide us with nutrients or protect us from sickness. Her hair is not our hair, her eyes are not our eyes, and her sicknesses our not our sicknesses. Her weight is not our weight.

I have friends that weigh 100 lbs. I have friends that weigh above 200. I myself weigh around 130 (I don't know for sure because I rarely check the scale). The fact is, we're all different. We all look different. Even if there was another girl in the world who had blue eyes and blonde hair and a round face and a long torso and weighed around 130 lbs, she still wouldn't have the same fingerprints. Her eyes wouldn't be quite the same shade of blue, or shape, or with the same number of lashes. She'd never be able to bend her toes in the same silly way as I can mine. Because God made me that way.

God gave me the body shape of a pear. I have just about nothing up top, and more than I sometimes like to think about down below. I gain weight in the winter and lose it in the summer. Some girls have the shape of an apple, of an hourglass, of a stick. And that's okay. You wanna know why?

Because it doesn't matter. My body shape doesn't effect you. I only told you about it as an example. In a few years, I intend to have kids. Who knows what my body will look like then? At some point I'll get old and wrinkly, maybe fat, maybe super-skinny. I don't know. I shouldn't know. I don't need to.

The point is, a book is not its cover. A girl may weigh 200 lbs and work out every day and eat a healthy diet and take incredible care of herself. Another may weigh 105, maybe even less, and eat like she's got two hollow legs. It could be the other way around. We all ought to stop judging and prying into things that are none of our business, and just get to know people instead.

Have you judged a person based on their appearance? I know I have. It isn't okay, but you don't have to keep doing it. You can change.

Have you been judged based on your appearance? On your weight, or lack thereof? Maybe on your complexion, or face-shape. I know I have. It isn't okay, but you don't have to take it anymore. You can stand up for yourself.

The next time you feel judged or feel yourself starting to judge others, just ask yourself, "Is it any of my/their business?" and if it isn't -- it usually won't be -- just move on. You're not your cover, either. What used to happen, doesn't have to happen anymore.

When you open the book, you could find a whole different story inside.

A Legacy

A few hundred years ago, some men got together and signed a piece of paper with a lot of long words.

It's the truth! But it's the abridged version.

The full(er) version goes something like this: On July 4, 1776, a group of determined, incredibly brave men got together to declare the independence of their country, a colony which was still under the thumb of their mother-country, Great Britain. They did this at the risk of their own lives.

I always liked the term "mother-country". I think it really fits our country's history. We grew up, well taken care of by Great Britain. They nursed us, fed us, protected us and provided for us. They did a good job. We got older, got a little more educated. Started to wonder if we could grow up fast enough. And then one day we realized that we were too old to still be living with our mother. We rebelled, like most teens do, and we won our independence. And even though our mother didn't like that too much at first, we're still friends. We help each other out. I think that America will always be able to count on England, and vice versa -- even if we do still make fun of each other. "Squee-rul." "Skwerl."

The thing is, if those men hadn't signed that Declaration, we wouldn't be here. We may not be under England's rule anymore, but we wouldn't be the USA. Hawaii and Alaska may not be states. Maybe Texas would still be part of Mexico and the Battle of The Alamo would have been for nothing (*shudder* I can't imagine studying history without reading about my favorite moment in all history). Maybe America would have finally rebelled during World War II -- imagine what the outcome of that would be!

The truth is, we can never know what would have happened if those men hadn't signed the Declaration. Do we really want to?

Because as it is, not only are we free, we also have our own special holiday that no other country in the world has. (And don't you dare make that joke. I know you're thinking about making that joke. Don't you do it.)

The Fourth of July isn't just about the signing. Those men left a legacy. But the beautiful thing about holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving and The Fourth is that every year, a new legacy is started. A new tradition is made. Memories are permanently etched into your brain. You make new friends and learn new things about yourself.

This year, we went to my uncle's girlfriend's house. We kids swam in the pool, dived, jumped, cannonballed, squirted each other with water guns and pelted each other with foam balls and frisbees. The grown-ups made brownies and talked and laughed and hovered near the guacamole because they knew that if they left it the big girls would steal it. Eventually we got tired and migrated inside for lunch, dried off, got dressed. My sister and two of my cousins and I watched "Penelope" (which I'm putting up a blog about later). Later everyone jumped back in the pool for volleyball. Actually, I didn't. I was having too much fun wearing this totally amazing outfit to take it off.

Plus I was tired. :P So, me being me, I sat on the edge of the pool and video-taped the game.

Then after a while we all headed off to go watch fireworks. Then, exhausted, we came home. My daddy just got home from China yesterday, so it was awesome to come home and finally give him a HUG.

And that's just one Fourth. Every year is different. One year we go watch the fireworks in a park with some family and cheer while a couple kisses during the finale. Another, two of my cousins and I lie down in the flat-bed of a pick-up truck trying to keep out of sight and singing (or screaming) Tim Hawkins at the top of our lungs. And another, we park in a neighborhood and walk for ten minutes just to find a good seat because the crowd at Bedford Boys Ranch is so huge. No Fourth of July is ever the same as the one before or after.

Each one leaves its own legacy.

So, yeah, maybe I complain about the mosquito bites and having to sit on the grass. Maybe the year we spent the Fourth in a pick-up I was a little dissappointed because we didn't get there in time to see the fireworks. Maybe I'm still kind of sad because I can remember going to see Fourth of July parades when I was really little, and we don't do that anymore. Maybe, when the story is abridged, it's kind of a boring one.

But it isn't boring, and the grass isn't that bad, and I had FUN riding in the pick-up truck, and someday I'll take my kids to see Fourth of July parades, and the mosquito bites go away. But the memories never go away. The stories stay. My stories won't go down in history, but who cares? A new story will always come next year.

I'M BACK!!!

Okay, before you say anything -- I know that I haven't posted a blog in more than a month. I won't make excuses. I have been pretty busy... But mostly it's because I've been too lazy to post a blog.

Too much has happened recently to go into detail about it all. Tech Week went wonderfully. We finished out Music Man with an excellent matinee performance and a final performance that didn't go so well on stage, but was an absolute blast backstage. My family and some friends went to Colorado. My cousins are down from Virginia. Pretty soon I'm heading off for church camp. But the coolest thing that's happening this summer (for me, anyway) is without a doubt, mine and my fellow JOY members' trip to Joplin, Missouri.

This year, on May 22, Joplin was almost literally attacked by a huge tornado. The entire city was practically flattened in just a few minutes. The hospital was horribly damaged. More than a hundred people were killed, and some are still missing. (Read this blog post for an inside story from one of the survivors)

A few weeks ago, my drama teacher and director, Eve Roberts, her daughter Rebecca, and my friend Julie and her mother all headed out on an impromptu trip to Joplin. While there, they helped clean up peoples' homes, handed out new toys to children, and heard lots of stories from survivors. One thing that both girls were amazed at was the amount of hope the residents of Joplin have.

Case in point.

Meanwhile, back home in Texas, the cast of Music Man was feeling pretty depressed and restless. We missed performing. We missed the fellowship of being in a cast. We missed each other. The people in the cast of a play may not consider each other their best friends, but it is impossible to go through what we went through without really, sincerely loving each other.

I think we all were trying to think of excuses to get together over the summer. The next time we saw each other was going to be in October when we all would audition for "Sound of Music". The ideal hang-out opportunity would be, of course, another play, but Mrs Roberts had said that we wouldn't be doing a play until the spring. Sadness, right?

Well, maybe not. Certain members of the cast -- I won't name names -- *cough cough* Jameson *cough cough* Wil -- are quite diabolical. Within a few weeks of striking the set, they had a plan. And within a few days of them suggesting their plan to Mrs Roberts, we were set to do "The Importance of Being Ernest" -- as a benefit for Joplin.

Only a few of us are in the cast -- the play doesn't exactly require a cast of thousands. I'm playing the wonderfully horrible Lady Bracknell, a stuffy, snooty old lady -- my favorite kind of character to play. It is a bit sad because not everyone I miss will be in the play, but the people that I would have missed the most are, so I'm not too miserable. :P

Actually, I'm quite happy. As we found out very recently, we will -- get this -- be performing in Joplin!!!!

Okay, okay -- so I kind of screamed really really loudly when I found out...

Anyway, if you're interested in hearing more about our performance dates and ways you can contribute, message me on FaceBook or comment on this post. I am incredibly excited about this. We get to bring hope to an already hopeful community. And, at the same time, I get to hang out with some of my best friends. I don't know about you, but I think God's in this; God's pretty good, isn't he?